


Through the Ice and Snow

by SpiritMuse



Series: Friendships through Fire and Ice [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 16:24:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12436866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritMuse/pseuds/SpiritMuse
Summary: Prompto sat at the foot of the bed with his back against the window side of the cabin. His knees were pulled up and his arms rested on top. He stared at Ignis' jacket hanging on a hook just inside the cabin door without really seeing it as the train rumbled forward inexorably. He sighed, for the umpteenth time. He hated this."Prompto," Ignis' voice was quiet but clear, "I can hear you sighing even over the noise of the train."





	Through the Ice and Snow

**Author's Note:**

> I had to write this after finishing with The Fire in his Eyes. It's really about nothing at all and totally self indulgent. :D

Prompto sat at the foot of the bed with his back against the window side of the cabin. His knees were pulled up and his arms rested on top. He'd taken off his boots, exposing his mismatched yellow chocobo/white moogle socks. He stared at Ignis' jacket hanging on a hook just inside the cabin door without really seeing it as the train rumbled forward inexorably.

Ignis was lying on his back on the bed opposite, the right way around, his head on the thin pillow and his arm draped across his eyes, sunglasses held loosely in his hand. It didn't quite hide the scarring on his face. Prompto sighed, for the umpteenth time. He hated this.

"Prompto," Ignis' voice was quiet but clear, "I can hear you sighing even over the noise of the train."

Oh. Crap. Busted.

"Sorry."

Ignis pushed himself upright, ducking his head far lower than was necessary to avoid hitting the top bunk, and let his socked feet drop to the floor. He put on his shades and turned his face in Prompto's direction.

"What's wrong? You've been sighing all day."

"Sorry." Prompto wasn't sure exactly why he was apologizing. Ignis merely waited silently.

"It's just... I hate this," Prompto began. He didn't really know how to explain it.

"And what is 'this', exactly?" Ignis probed gently.

Prompto sighed again in frustration. "I don't know. I just... I hate seeing Noct like this. He's hurting so bad and there's nothing I can do to fix it." The words tumbled out of him now. "And then Gladio's being all upset and grumpy with him and I dunno... I just... I want things to go back to the way they were. You know? Back to when everything wasn't so complicated and we were just having fun road-tripping and Luna wasn't dead and Noct wasn't so heartbroken and he and Gladio were still friends and you weren't blind..." Prompto clapped his mouth shut. Crap. Like Ignis needed to be reminded of that.

"Sorry. I didn't mean..."

"It's quite alright." Ignis spoke quietly. He didn't seem to be upset. Not for the first time, Prompto was glad for Ignis' even temperament.

"I just... hate seeing my friends upset with each other and there's nothing I can do about it. I tried to talk to Gladio but he wouldn't listen and I just... I feel so useless." Prompto hung his head.

"Give them time," Ignis said mildly, "They need to sort this out between themselves."

"Yeah, I guess."

For some time only the muffled sound of the train thundering across the tracks filled the air as Prompto stared sightlessly at his far too cheery socks.

"Prompto?" Ignis' voice interrupted his meditation, "Would you mind lending me a hand?"

Prompto looked up. Ignis had removed his sunglasses.

"Sure. What's up?"

Ignis pressed his palm up against the scar on his face. "My scar is starting to itch a bit. Would you be so kind as to dig up the ointment out of my pack and apply it for me?"

"Uh, sure," Prompto said, "But why? You can do that yourself right?"

"I could," Ignis agreed easily.

"Buuut you don't want to."

"I do distinctly remember you offering to be my servant quite recently." There was a hint of amusement, or maybe mischievousness in Ignis' voice.

Prompto laughed. "Ahhh, I knew you were never gonna let that go. Very well then, my lord," he said dramatically as he jumped off the bed.

"You know, that is actually the proper way to address me," Ignis said, looking amused, "as I am of noble blood. A count, to be exact."

"What, seriously?" 

"Yes. In as much as titles like that still mean anything," Ignis said wryly.

"Huh, never knew that," Prompto said, "What about Gladio?"

"He's a Duke."

Prompto cocked his head, confused. "How is that different from a Count?"

"There's a hierarchy to the noble titles," Ignis said, "I could explain the whole list to you, but suffice to say a Duke ranks higher than a Count. In fact, they are second only to the Royal Family."

"Wow, really? So Gladio technically outranks you?"

"In that regard, I suppose he does. As retainers to the Crown Prince, however, we are equals."

"Damn, all this royalty. And then there's me just being an ordinary pleb," Prompto grinned lopsidedly.

"You're hardly ordinary, Prompto," Ignis protested without missing a beat.

Prompto smiled wryly, glad that Ignis couldn't see it. The man had no idea how right he was.

"Yeah yeah," he replied lightly, "I know, I wouldn't be here if I was and all that."

Ignis didn't reply.

Prompto pulled Ignis' pack out from under the bed, then hesitated.

"Uh, you sure you're alright with me going through your stuff?" he asked, "I mean, I don't wanna mess everything up so you can't find stuff anymore."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you." Prompto zipped open Ignis' bag and it turned out to be super organised. Aside from his shirts and pants there were a bunch of different coloured pouches in there and no loose items at all. 

"Damn Iggy, that's organised." Prompto wondered if that was because he was blind now or if it had always been like that. He'd never really paid attention to Ignis' stuff before.

Ignis snorted. "I told you it would be fine. The tube should be in the red pouch."

"Right." It wasn't hard to find the red pouch Ignis meant and he opened it to find a lot of medical supplies. He rooted around in it until he located the tube, trying not to disturb too much just to be sure. "Aha, there you are!"

When Prompto looked up he saw that Ignis had pushed himself back onto the bed so that just his feet were dangling over the edge. He had a pillow behind his back and was settling in comfortably.

"Ok Ignis, here I come," Prompto announced before he clambered onto the bed to sit on his knees next to Ignis. Ignis merely leaned back his head and waited, his eyes closed as always.

"Uh, ok." Prompto suddenly wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't usually this close to Ignis' face. It felt unnervingly intimate.

He hadn't actually known Ignis all that well before their trip. Even during it he hadn't really been close to him. They got along well enough, and he trusted Ignis with his life, but Ignis was private, hard to read. Hard to truly get close to. A bit intimidating, even.

And then Altissia happened. And everything had changed, flipped on its head. Suddenly Ignis was depending on him, instead of the other way around. Suddenly he'd been admitted entrance into some of Ignis' most private, personal moments. Seen parts of him he never thought he would. He still wasn't quite sure how to handle it all. 

"Something wrong?" Ignis turned his head slightly and Prompto could see his eyes moving behind his closed eyelids. "It won't hurt if that's what you're concerned about."

"Uh, yeah, sorry," Prompto bumbled, "I'll get on it."

He unscrewed the cap to the tube and squeezed a little of the cream on his fingers. Hesitantly he reached out to Ignis' face. With unsure fingers he touched the area around his eyebrow and started gently spreading out the cream. The scarred surface felt weird. It was rough and bumpy but also kind of smooth in a way skin shouldn't really be. 

Even more carefully, he moved on to the eyelid. A slight smile was pulling around Ignis' mouth.

"You don't have to be quite so careful, I'm not made of glass, you know," he said amusedly.

"Sorry," Prompto almost winced, "I've never done anything like this before."

"Fair enough," Ignis conceded, "Still, there's no need to worry so much. The scar tissue is mostly numb to the touch, so as long as you don't actually poke me in the eye we should be fine."

"Why are you letting me do this?" Prompto couldn't help asking as he moved on to the area beneath the eye, spreading the cream a little faster and more confidently now.

"Because you want to help," Ignis replied easily.

"...And I trust you," he added quietly after a moment.

Prompto was, for once, speechless.

"You've seen me at my worst and didn't run away," Ignis continued, "I am well aware how terrifying it can be to see me angry."

"Yeah, it was kinda scary," Prompto admitted, "But I knew you weren't really angry at me, so that helped."

Ignis smiled and lightly shook his head.

"You are far stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"No I'm not, you guys are the strong ones," Prompto protested, "I'm just some dumb pleb trying to keep up and kind of never quite getting there."

Ignis turned to face Prompto, his hand reaching out towards him, touching on his shoulder before feeling its way up to his neck, then his face. Prompto didn't move, letting Ignis find him.

Once Ignis had determined where Prompto's face was, he grabbed him gently by the chin as a parent would an unruly child, and raised his own head as if to look him straight in the eye, though his eyes were closed as ever. Prompto was sure that if Ignis had still been able to see, he would now be giving him one of his piercing looks that always made you feel like he could see right through you.

Their faces were so close he could almost feel Ignis' breath. It felt, once again, unnervingly intimate.

"You shouldn't discount your own worth so easily, Prompto," Ignis said quietly, in that way he had of sounding stern yet mild at the same time. Then he let go and returned to his previous position, comfortably leaning against the wall.

"Back in Altissia, you told me you looked up to me," he said. Prompto was caught off guard a little. Ignis remembered that? Of course Ignis remembered that, it was Ignis.

"In truth, there are times I envy you." 

Prompto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Uh, why? What's there to envy about me?"

Ignis smiled. "Plenty. Gladio and I, we were groomed from a young age to be what we are. Educated and trained for our purpose every day, responsibility drilled into us every second. Never truly able to just be children. Even Noct, as much leeway as he was given, was never truly carefree as a child."

"I... never realized that." Prompto had always thought that life growing up in the Citadel was one of luxury and having pretty much whatever you wanted. Of course he knew that they also had the responsibility of leading an entire country, but still. 

"Politics, especially international politics, is a high stakes game of posturing and willpower," Ignis explained, "To show weakness is to invite disaster. So we were taught to always be on our guard, even around allies."

Suddenly it made a lot more sense, why they were so... intense. Why Ignis and Gladio took everything so deeply seriously, and Noct so deliberately didn't.

"But you are not," Ignis continued, "You wear your heart on your sleeve. You care. Freely and easily. Fearlessly." A tiny smile tugged on Ignis' mouth, "And you always know exactly the right jokes to make to lighten the mood when the three of us are in danger of growing too serious."

"Really?" Prompto was skeptical. "I thought my jokes always just annoyed you."

"I... may not always be quite as exasperated as I pretend to be. But it's hard to resist," Ignis had what was almost a mischievous smile on his face, "Your reaction to it is usually quite amusing."

Prompto gasped in mock outrage. "You troll!" he exclaimed.

Ignis burst into laughter. "Guilty as charged, I suppose," he chuckled.

"You know I'm never going to take you seriously again when you get annoyed with me, right?" Prompto grinned.

"Ah, I suppose I have rather given up the game, haven't I?" Ignis didn't seem at all regretful. "But this is exactly what I mean," he said, more seriously again, "To make people laugh when they need it most is a talent of great value."

"Lot of good it's doing now though. I can't get through to either of them," Prompto said, suddenly feeling morose again at the thought of Noct and Gladio's argument that he was failing to help with.

"As I said before, it will take time," Ignis reminded him, "There's not much you can do if they're not ready to listen."

"I guess you're right." Prompto changed his position, sitting back against the wall next to Ignis, dangling his feet over the edge of the bed. He was still trying to process what Ignis had said. That Ignis envied him. Ignis, of all people. He had a hard time believing it. But then again, Ignis wouldn't lie about stuff like that.

He stared listlessly at both of their socks. His own mismatched moogle/chocobo ones, and Ignis' dark... wait. He looked more carefully, and realised one of them was dark blue, while the other was black. He wondered if Ignis knew.

"Iggy," he said before he could stop himself, "Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but... your socks don't match."

"Oh," Ignis said, "Thank you for letting me know. I wasn't sure." He didn't sound unhappy about it, weirdly.

"It doesn't bother you?" Prompto asked confusedly.

"No," Ignis looked amused, "I'm only surprised you never noticed before."

"Wait what does that mean? Like, you wore mismatched socks before?"

"I have for as long as you've known me."

"Really? Like, seriously?" Prompto was having a hard time wrapping his head around that one. Ignis wearing mismatched socks? He always thought that was the kind of thing that only fashion challenged scrubs like himself did, not prim and proper people like Ignis.

"I started doing it when I was 15," Ignis explained, "Subtly enough of course that no one would notice unless they were staring right at them. It was my one act of teenage rebellion."

"Not really a good one if no one noticed," Prompto remarked.

Ignis chuckled, "That wasn't the point. _I_ knew. It was my secret. That was enough."

"You're weird," it was out before Prompto knew it.

Ignis only chuckled again. "Says the grown man wearing chocobo and moogle socks."

Prompto's eyes widened. "How did you know I was wearing those?"

Ignis smiled mysteriously. "I didn't. But they are your favourite combination, it was an educated guess." Prompto was sure there would be a twinkle in his eyes if they'd been open.

"Geez is there anything you don't know?" Prompto chuckled.

"Well, what colour my own socks are, apparently," Ignis replied somewhat ruefully, "It's difficult to match them these days, most of them are exactly the same model and I can't feel the difference."

"Uh, is there any way I can help with that?" Prompto offered, "You know, from one mismatched sock-wearer to another."

Ignis put a finger to his chin and pondered this for a moment.

"Well," he said, "I suppose as my servant I could have you pick out my socks every morning..."

Prompto sputtered in surprise and Ignis laughed.

"Oh man, you _really_ aren't gonna let that one go are you?" Prompto whined, although the effectiveness of his whine was kind of destroyed by the fact that he was laughing.

Ignis just smiled mischievously.

"Seriously though," Prompto said, "what can I do?"

"Well, I really just need a pair of eyes to help match them up properly once," Ignis replied, "I have safety pins to pin them together so they'll stay matched. Or mismatched, as the case may be."

"Safety pins? That'd definitely work... Wait, how does that work though when you're wearing them?"

"You pin them back together when you take them off, and they go in the wash like that."

"Ah, right!" Prompto felt a bit stupid, he could have thought of that, really. "That's actually really ingenious, Iggy."

Ignis chuckled. "It is, rather, isn't it? Sadly I did not come up with it myself."

"So when do you wanna do this?" Prompto asked, eager to be doing something useful for a change.

"Whenever you like. We don't have a set schedule at the moment, so any time should be fine."

"Ok, then how about right now?"

Ignis turned towards him, his eyebrows raised. "Now?"

"Well I've already got your bag open, we might as well."

"Hm. I suppose there's no time like the present."

"Cool." Prompto slid back off the bed. "So, uh, which one are your socks in?"

"The dark blue one. The pins are in the green one."

Prompto quickly found the blue pouch and opened it up to reveal a mess of darkly coloured socks. He dumped them all in a pile on the bed. He then went back to dig up the green one, which turned out to be a smaller pouch filled with sewing supplies. He picked out a box of safety pins and put it on the bed as well.

"Right, so how do you want them matched?" he asked as he sat back down on the bed.

"There should be an even number of blue and black ones," Ignis said, pulling his feet up on the bed and turning towards him, "Just pin one of each together. And, if you please, could you make sure the blue sock is always on the right?"

"Sure. Uh, why? If it's ok to ask?" Prompto opened up the box of safety pins and shook a few of them out onto the bedding.

"I always wear the blue on my right foot," Ignis said.

"So it's not complete anarchy in your shoes, then," Prompto chuckled.

Ignis smiled. "I suppose not."

"Man, trust you to have a rule even for breaking the rules." Prompto glanced at Ignis' feet. "You're wearing it on your left today though."

"Ah. Well, we can't have that." Ignis folded his legs and pulled off his socks to exchange them.

Prompto started picking out mismatched sets of socks and pinning them together. Blue sock on the right, as Ignis had requested.

"Thanks," he said as he worked.

"For what?"

"For letting me help you."

Ignis hummed.

"Thank you for making it easy to ask."


End file.
